Liberty Global starts DOCSIS 3.1 rollout in Germany

Marking the first commercial DOCSIS 3.1 deployment across Liberty Global’s European footprint, German subsidiary Unitymedia will launch a gigabit internet service in the city of Bochum in Q1 2018.

Bochum will be the first city in Germany to be almost completely covered by internet access at gigabit speeds. As part of the initiative Gigabit-City Bochum Unitymedia jointly founded with the city of Bochum and local utility provider Stadtwerke Bochum, more than 95% of the households and businesses in Bochum will be able to use the high-speed service by the end of 2018.

To enable the service technically, Unitymedia will equip its fibre-optic cable network in Bochum with gigabit-capable network elements and implement the new cable standard DOCSIS 3.1 until 2018. From Q1 2018, households and companies in Bochum will be able to sign up for Gigabit tariffs from Unitymedia.

The company currently reaches more than 170,000 households through its local network, corresponding with around 90% of all households in Bochum. As part of the upgrade, further currently underserved parts of the city will be provided with fibre-optic lines.

“A lot is currently being talked about the gigabit society. We create facts and turn Bochum into the first gigabit city – not only in Germany, but also across the whole European cable footprint of our parent company Liberty Global,” said Lutz Schüler, CEO of Unitymedia. “Many other towns will follow.”

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About Jörn Krieger

Jörn reports on the latest developments in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Since 1992, he has been working as a freelance journalist, specialised in digital media, broadcast technology, convergence and new markets. He also takes up University lectureships, writes articles in specialist publications, and produces radio reports. Jörn is also a moderator of panel discussions at industry events such as ANGA COM, Medientage München and IFA Berlin.